Are Inpatient Care Services the Best Choice for Me?

The Substance Abuse Cycle

The substance abuse cycle lies at the heart of addiction. Anyone considering inpatient care services well knows how difficult it is to stop using drugs or alcohol, let alone maintain abstinence for any length of time. Whether using drugs or alcohol, addictive substances all interact with the brain’s chemical make-up in destructive ways.

Frequent or repeated drug use alters neurotransmitter chemical levels in the brain and will continue to do so for as long as a person keeps using, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Since individual brain cells secrete the brain’s chemicals, ongoing substance abuse will wear away at cell structures over time. These effects in turn make cells less responsive to a drug’s (or alcohol’s) effects.

When this happens, users will likely increase dosage amounts in order to feel the drug’s full effects. Herein lies the drug abuse cycle driving users to ingest increasingly larger doses of the drug as cell structures continue to deteriorate with ongoing use.

Inpatient care services address the harmful effects of long-term drug abuse on the brain while helping addicts develop healthy ways of coping with daily life.

For help finding treatment for addiction call 800-430-1407Who Answers? toll free anytime.

Addiction’s Aftereffects

With long-term drug abuse comes physical dependence and psychological dependence. While most people recognize the effects of physical dependence when withdrawal symptoms arise, not everyone understands how a psychological dependence works.

By the time addiction sets in, a person has organized his or her entire lifestyle around getting and using drugs. In effect, addicts come to believe they need the drug to cope with everyday life, which is how a psychological dependence works. Psychological dependence also lies at the heart of the addiction problem.

These effects persist long after a person stops using as he or she has developed new habits, behaviors and ultimately a new lifestyle. Inpatient care services address addiction’s aftereffects, both physical and psychological. In the case of long-term drug abuse, inpatient care services work especially well at diagnosing and treating the range of other problems that can develop out of severe addiction.

Questions to Ask

How Bad Is My Drug Problem?

When considering addiction treatment options, it’s especially important to ensure the program level you choose can aptly address the severity of your addiction problem. Inpatient care services are designed to treat the most severe forms of addiction.

Factors that point to the severity of an addiction problem include:

• Problems on the job or loss of a job due to drug use
• Relationship problems
• Problems with the law
• Financial difficulties
• Decline in overall physical health
• Decline in overall mental health

The more severe the addiction problem the greater the destruction it leaves in its wake.

How Long Have I Been Using?

Inpatient programs offer the whole package when it comes to addiction treatment.

Both drug and alcohol abuse have a cumulative effect on brain and body functions. Long-term drug abuse takes a tremendous toll on the brain’s ability to regulate the body’s processes. After a certain point, the drug’s effects become vital to maintaining some semblance of normal functioning.

People at the early stages of addiction will likely not require the level of treatment inpatient care services provides. On the other hand, someone who suffers from a chronic medical condition, such as obesity or heart disease may well require a more intensive treatment approach regardless of how long he or she has used.

Have I Attempted Drug Treatment Before?

Addiction works in much the same way as a chronic medical condition in terms of how drug abuse creates a disease-like state inside the brain. This is especially the case with chronic and long-term addictions. Under these conditions, it’s not uncommon for a person to go through multiple rounds of drug treatment before making any headway in the recovery process.

While standard drug treatment programs do a good job at treating addiction, inpatient care services take a comprehensive approach, treating the whole person as opposed to just the addiction problem. Someone who’s gone through multiple rounds of drug treatment will likely require the level of treatment offered through inpatient care services.

We can help you find treatment. Call 800-430-1407Who Answers? toll free anytime.

Do I Struggle with Other Mental Health Problems?

Chronic drug abuse wreaks havoc on the brain’s neurotransmitter levels creating widespread chemical imbalance throughout the brain. Brain chemical imbalances in general create an environment where psychological disorders can easily develop.

Someone experiencing ongoing symptoms of depression and/or anxiety has likely developed a psychological disorder from continued drug use. Inpatient care services specialize in treating conditions that result from chronic drug use.

Programs offering inpatient care services use an integrated approach, which treats addiction and mental illness together rather than separately. As addiction and psychological disorders tend to feed off one another, an integrated treatment approach offers addicts the best chance of getting a grip on an addiction problem.

Do I Have a Support System in Place?

Undoing the effects of addiction often takes longer than most people expect. The emotional ups and downs alone can make for a distressing first couple of years in recovery.

During this time, having a support system in place can prove invaluable during the most difficult times when the urge to use is strongest. In the case of long-term addiction problems, a support system can mean the difference between ongoing abstinence and repeated relapse episodes.

In effect, the residents that make-up an inpatient care services program act as a built-in support system, with many people forming long-term friendships during this most difficult time. Twelve Step support groups also make up a big part of an inpatient care services program, providing addicts with a solid grasp on the importance of social supports in the recovery process.

Inpatient Care Services

Inpatient care services cover a lot of ground in terms of the different types of treatments used, according to Perelman School of Medicine. As these programs take on the most severe forms of addiction, patients undergo a comprehensive assessment/evaluation process at the start of treatment to determine each person’s specific treatment needs.

While not everyone will require all forms of treatment, inpatient care services offered typically include the following:

• Individual psychotherapy
• Group therapy
• Drug education training
• Medical care and treatment
• Drug counseling
• Medication therapies

For people who’ve reached the end of the line as far as drug treatment programs go, inpatient care services offer an in-depth approach to helping addicts overcome the damaging effects of addiction in their lives.

We can help you find the treatment you need. Call 800-430-1407Who Answers? toll free anytime.